Romans 5:15-19

Scripture Verse

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! ¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Condemnation? Salvation!

Our culture barely recognizes sin as a concept, let alone a personal reality. This passage tackles sin, original sin, our free will, and Christ’s substitutionary atoning sacrifice – that’s a lot to pack into only five verses.

What is sin? The general definition (with minor variations) is to act counter to God’s will or law, by thought, word or deed. Knowledge is a factor, which is why the O.T. emphasizes the letter of the law, but God’s law is also written on our hearts by conscience.  Volition, choice and circumstances also factor in (classically, lying to Nazis, or stealing to feed the starving). And, the terms trespasses and debt are often used instead, to show how our transgression creates a debt owed to God and to others. At its simplest – God is perfect, and you are not. Try it on your friends – Are you perfect? No? Then you have sinned.

Why are we condemned by sin? God is not just all present, knowing and powerful, He is perfectly good, holy, righteous and just.  This means that to be in His presence eternally (heaven), we must be compatible with His nature. It’s not that He condemns us, but that we choose sin. Our cultural notion that the scales of justice or salvation can be tipped at 51% (more good than bad) is fatally wrong. Either we must be perfect (as Christ is), or Christ must pay our debt.

Why does Adam’s sin condemn us? The notion that Adam’s original sin condemns us seems wrong. Don’t we have our own free will? “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” God wants us to freely praise Him, so he allows the possibility of sin. Like Adam, we freely walk the book of life from page to page, but God holds the book and foreknows our choices and ends. It’s not that Adam’s act condemns us, but that we share his imperfect nature.

Why can Jesus atone for us?  In the modern church, we often neglect the Old Testament culture of substitutionary blood sacrifice. But we can believe in Christ as the perfect sacrifice, because he was perfectly innocent, and his divine nature and freely given sacrifice covers the sin of the world if only we will ask for and accept His grace!  Christ can save whoever He wants – the least we can do is ask and grab the life ring of salvation that He throws to us.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, as we meditate on our sinful natures, why they separate us from You, and the perfect grace of Christ’s atonement, let us look forward to Good Friday and Easter and appreciate His true sacrifice and glorious victory.